


A Red Lamb

by scribensdracones



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Random Encounters, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-16 21:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14819523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribensdracones/pseuds/scribensdracones
Summary: Seeking a break from bothersome fellow Elders, Urokai finds refuge in a quiet village in southern Ireland, where he meets the catholic priest Thomas Summerfield. Their conversation that day will stick with him for a long time.Possible continuation in the context of a Raizel x Urokai fanfic.





	A Red Lamb

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly nothing of great importance, just something I once had talked about with a friend. I love my good pure boy Thomas and felt like writing him at least for a little snip. Although... I did toy to have this as part of a Raizel x Urokai Redemption Story... opinions would be appreciated!

This must have been the quaintest little shithole he has seen in at least twohundred years. He'd managed to escape Zarga's endless nagging and the constant annoyance caused to him by the 10th and 12th Elders. They shouldn't even be allowed to talk to him at all, these miserable worms! He vaguely remembered the world map, and if he was not wrong, he was somewhere on an island called _Ireland_. No one in the world would go and look for him here. Good, all he wanted was some _quiet_. However, this place did not alleviate his boredom. Urokai wandered through empty streets, the few people he saw averted their gaze in a sense of discomfort  - good. He didn't want to talk to anyone anyway.   
After about half an hour, he reached the largest building in the small town, an old church that must have stood here for longer than most of the other buildings. The heavy door creaked when he pushed it open and he was met with a draft of cool air coming from the inside. Dimmed sunlight fell through the windows of stained glass, throwing colorful specks of light on the floor and the columns. Other than that, the building was disappointingly unornate. Quite unlike the much larger cathedrals he had seen in other places. Still, the quietness of this place was one he could appreciate. Idly, Urokai strolled towards the row of candles that must have been lit at some point. Some of them seemed fresh while others had burned down almost entirely by now.

"  “You look a little lost, if I may say so. Can I help you?" Not a quiet voice, but a calm one. Slowly, Urokai turned towards the human who'd addressed him. Dressed in black, early thirties, he'd wager, tousled dark hair. He did not seem too angered over the visitor. Still, Urokai huffed, feeling insulted by the mere fact that a mortal dared speak to him just like that, uninvited. Still, he didn't want to cause a scene, meaning to keep a low profile until Zarga and the rest decided they no longer felt the inescapable need to annoy him.  
"No. I'm just having a look around." 

The main church was usually empty, apart from sundays and the rare elderly person looking for company and comfort in the presence of the young priest. A small comunity of hardly a thousand inhabitants in a rural area, an inornate church that seemed to get emptier each year. Thus, he was surprised to see someone here - someone young, and someone  **new**. Though Thomas most certainly did not know everyone in town, he knew all those who attended church regularly, and none of them a one-eyed redhead. Maybe he moved here only recently. For the first couple of minutes, he had not bothered the man in case he had come here to pray or light a candle. He didn't - and so Thomas approached the stranger, hands folded in front of his torso.

"Oh. I see. We rarely see tourists around here. I am afraid there is not much to see here."  
"I noticed that. About as dead as it gets... You're a priest, right?"  
"Yes, I am."  
"What do you do all day, apart from preaching?" (Urokai realized he never talked to a human priest before. ~~_Why would he ?_~~ ) The priest seemed to be a bit taken aback by the question, but he still answered patiently.  
"Apart from preparing the masses, I am responsible for counseling at the nearby nursery home and the school, as well as the local youth club and neighborhood community."   
"So, talking to people all day."  
The man in front of him laughed, it sounded off in this little church. But somehow Urokai liked that sound. It felt so... light. _Genuine_.   
"Essentially. Of course, each priest performs different tasks. But I like people, so that's what I do: helping them."  
"Isn't _God_ or something supposed to help them?" Urokai snorted. He was _vaguely_ familiar with the notion of religion, after all.   
"God is the one who gives us strength to help ourselves."   
Once again, Urokai was tempted to snort. Right. Humans needed something like that too. A Lord. ~~_A noblesse_~~. Someone to look up to. Instead of their kings, just as foul and flawed as the common rabble, they turned to God.

"... I still need to tend to the chapel's Garden, but don't hesitate to ask, if there is anything I can help you with." The priest was too friendly, Urokai did not like it, and it almost made him snarl. That smile was too genuine, unpleasant to see with his own eyes, sore of all the bitter faces and false smiles he was forced to see whenever he had any union business to take care of. Zarga never has been particulaly funny and Roctis must have forgotten how to smile altogether. Ignes, though not much younger than him, was too intense for his tastes. For fuck's sake, how low has he stooped, to seek company from a human?   
"I will just hang around," he finally replied through gritted teeth, and for a moment, he was certain the man must feel his tension (but ah, Urokai never has been good at hiding his feelings. He played with his heart on his sleeve).   
"You're welcome. I rarely have company... My name is Thomas." He offered one hand. Urokai glanced at it with furrowed brows and, once the Priest realized that the redhead had no intentions of accepting the handshake, he let his arm drop back to his side.  
"I'm Urokai."

He followed the priest out in the garden, slipping his hood off. A bunch of herbs and flowers he was not familiar with. The priest grabbed a pair of intensely yellow rubber gardening gloves and a green bucket with tools that were probably meant for gardening. Urokai realized he knew absolutely nothing about herbs and plants, he always left the garden of the clan's estate to the gardener. The man, Thomas, hummed a tune as he filled a green watering can with water from an old faucet. He wasn't silent, but quiet. This was one of the rare moments Urokai remembered that they did not mean the same thing.  
"So, are you from far away?", the priest asked, kneeling in the dirt to clip wilted flowers from a shrub.  
"I'm from New Zealand." One of the elders had told him to just always say that, if asked.   
"New Zealand? What a far way you come from! Probably on the way  to Cork? You should drop by at Kilkenny, it's maybe an hour away from here. Though I guess that won't impress someone from New Zealand. I heard it's an absolutely gorgeous place."  
Urokai shrugged with a hum. He never has been to New Zealand and didn't care to.   
"Why are you a priest? Must be a shitty job."  
Thomas halted and glanced up to him before returning his attention to the rose bush. "Not everyone is made for priesthood, and that's alright. There are many ways in which people do the Lord's work, after all. I want to help people. There's many ways to do that, too."  
"why bother helping people? As if they ever return anything you give them."  
" It's not about receiving. To give and to receive is barter... The love we receive from God, we give back to our neighbours, or brothers and sisters. Compassion is not a single kind deed, but a way of life."  
"And then you burn yourself like a candle, to keep others warm."  
"If I am to burn, then so be it. Whether in this life or the next, whatever we sow we will reap."

Urokai laughed bitterly. How naive! How foolish! As if this man knew nothing of life. "Oh, yes. You love, you give, you love, you give, and you get nothing back. What you sow, another reaps. And you are forgotten and left behind. That's the way it goes. You do everything for someone you admire and cherish and you get nothing in return. You are forgotten. That's all it leads to."  
Finally, the priest set down his gardening tools, shifting to look at him. There was a sadness in his green eyes.  
"I am sorry you have been hurt so much," he said, softly. His voice was gentle, so gentle, like the tender caress of a loving father. Urokai gulped, feeling taken aback by his own outburst of emotion and the calm he was met with. In this moment, the human reminded him of someone he had tried to erase from his memory.   
"Often, this world is not just... often, we despair, question, wonder whether there is a purpose and a reason. We ask ... how can there be a God who makes us suffer like that? How can God loves us and still let this world be like that? It's one of the hardest questions in the world. But we all have a cross to carry, such as Christ, and the Lord does not place a cross on our shoulders heaver than what we can carry - and if we keep our faith, if we can stay good people despite everything... through these hardships, we grow. And in this growth lies salvation."   
Urokai swallowed, embarrassed by his own outburst of emotion before this stupid human who started talking of God.  
"I should go." He felt uncomfortable being here.   
The priest gave a little nod. "God be with you... Be safe on your travels. I hope you will find peace there." 

Something about that stuck him, even long after returning to his base. _I hope you will find peace there_... In that little garden, in the company of that humming priest, he'd felt peace for a few moments. And for the first time in centuries, Urokai found himself wishing he could turn back time. Undo the wrongs he'd inflicted on the one he loved the most, go back to visisting the Noblesse with his friends, go back to Lukedonia, go back to times that would never come back.   
Urokai found himself missing the happiness he once had. 


End file.
